


Tonight Again

by Nyhne



Series: Sleeping With A Friend [7]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Frat Parties, Freshman Orientation Week, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Groping, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 12:32:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7268392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyhne/pseuds/Nyhne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's their first week of college, and already things are complicated. Freshman year flashback. </p>
<p>--part of a College AU series that centers around PruAus--</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tonight Again

Gilbert took another sip from his red solo cup as he surveyed the room. The frat house basement was overflowing with drunk college students, the majority of them overeager freshmen, and it smelled strongly of sweat and whatever DUI-worthy concoction was currently fizzing away in Gilbert’s cup.

It was only the third day of Orientation Week and this was the second party Gilbert had been to since arriving on campus. The group of sophomore girls Francis had charmed his way into getting invites from had abandoned them almost as soon as they’d stepped foot into the beer-laden musk of the frat house—although Gilbert had caught sight of Francis leaning over the arm of a couch chatting to one of them a while ago.

Antonio had struck up conversation with some upperclassman who had shoulder-length blonde hair and rounded, cat-like features that dimpled when she smiled. The Spaniard’s posture was innocent enough, but Gilbert swore that every time he saw them they had moved a little closer.

Which left Gilbert by himself, drink in hand as he observed from his position next to the doorway.

It wasn’t that Gilbert hadn’t had his fair share of attention at the party, but after three days of nonstop drinking and socializing, Gilbert was already finding himself bored. Besides, most of the people that had passed his way weren’t really his type.

His eyes scanned over the room again just as a group of sophomore girls passed through the door and flashed him flirtatious giggles. Gilbert grinned in return but otherwise made no move to pursue them. If he was being honest with himself, the only person who could really capture his attention right now was—

Gilbert swore aloud as low and behold, the two people he should have expected to see stepped off the basement stairs, drinks in hand. The night was about to get a bit more complicated.

Erzsi was wearing a sleeveless crop top that had a high neckline and showed off her lean muscles beautifully. She had on low-waisted black jeans, despite the hot, humid night, and Gilbert could see from the glint in her eyes that she’d already enjoyed a drink or two before coming downstairs.

A few heads had already turned her way, but Gilbert’s eyes had already slid past her mane of thick, wavy hair to the brunet standing next to her.

Contrary to his usual prim and proper appearance, Roderich was wearing a loose fitting purple tank with an ombre fade and light gray jeans that looked as skin-tight as Erzi’s. Gilbert was also pretty sure that he was wearing makeup.

A douchey-looking frat brother elbow one of his friends with a troublemaking jeer in Roderich’s direction, but, as if possessing some sort of sixth sense, Erzi’s head swung their way and she gave the other student a murderous glare that quickly had him turning the other direction. Gilbert whistled low in appreciation. The crazy bitch hadn’t lost her touch, after all.

Unsurprisingly, Roderich appeared ever oblivious to it all, the brunet turned an entirely different direction throughout the little exchange.

_Clueless little prince._ Gilbert breathed out heavily and felt his cup crinkle slightly in his hand.

“Fucking fruit is going to get himself killed,” he grumbled under his breath.

It had been nearly a week since they had arrived on campus and this was maybe the third time Gilbert had seen Roderich since move-in day. Gilbert was pretty sure the other boy was avoiding him deliberately.

Well, he didn’t have any _proof_ of it, and to be fair, most of his time had been spent with Francis and Antonio now that they were finally going to the same school again…but Gilbert had a strong suspicion that Roderich was avoiding The Conversation:

Since that first night the fall of their Junior year, Gilbert and Roderich had been sleeping together with (surprising) regularity. Gilbert liked to say that it was just a way for him to get off when he was horny, but it still put them in a bit of an awkward position now that they were in college. He knew that Roderich was looking to hook up with people during Orientation Week—if the brunet hadn’t already—just like any other freshly-initiated college freshman. (And Gilbert was definitely _not_ _jealous_ at that.)

But Gilbert had (mostly) convinced himself that he didn’t care whether the brunet wanted to keep sleeping together or not. Like the fuck he cared whether Roderich made himself the biggest whore on campus. He just wanted a simple answer, that was all—

He tried to remind himself of this as he began walking towards the pair, bracing himself with a deep breath.

“Is that Gilbert Beilschmidt?” Erzsi asked once he’d broken through the crowd. She had one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed over her chest, and amused look on her face.

From afar, Roderich’s face remained largely impassive, but Gilbert hadn’t missed the slight widening of his eyes in surprise.

“Fancy seeing you two here,” Gilbert said casually, forming a well-practiced smirk on his lips. “Just couldn’t stay away from all this awesomeness, could you?”

He gestured lower on his body and that finally seemed to prompt the reaction he wanted from the other male. Roderich scoffed loudly and rolled his eyes, the dark eyeliner obvious now that Gilbert was closer. What a fruit.

“Oh shove off it, Gilbert. As if anyone would be desperate enough to go back with you tonight.”

Gilbert faltered at that. Was that just one of Roderich’s automatic responses, or had he actually meant it?

He plowed through the hesitation with another obnoxious grin and moved forward enough to sling an arm over the other’s shoulders, pulling him close with wolfish look.

“Whatever, Roddy. You know you can’t resist my—“

“ _Ah, Gilbert, there you are!_ Tonio and I were beginning to worry.”

Gilbert looked up just as Francis parted his way through the crowd, Antonio struggling to keep up behind him. The blond was holding his red solo cup like it was a wine goblet, one pinky extended ridiculously. The top few buttons of his shirt were noticeably undone.

“Why the hell would you need to be worried about me?” Gilbert snorted, refusing to loosen his hold on Roderich despite the other’s squirming.

“Safety in numbers,” Francis tutted, and then paused when he realized that Gilbert was not alone.

“My apologies,” he said, his eyes notably straying on Roderich. “I did not realize you were with company. Enchanté, darling, I hope our Gilbert was not being too rude.”

Gilbert rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, Franny. This is Roderich and Erzsébet—you’ve met them before, it’s just been a few years.”

The blond’s eyes brightened immediately. “Mais oui, of course I remember Roderich and the charming Erzsébet! It has been such a long time since Gilbert last let us see you—he must have been keeping you to himself for a reason, non?” he winked.

Erzsi hardly looked impressed, but Roderich’s cheeks colored pink and he immediately shoved Gilbert off of him.

“We’re not together,” he clarified.

“Oh?” Francis blinked. Gilbert didn’t miss the calculating glint behind it.

He scowled. “Weren’t you talking to that sophomore chick from earlier?” he asked a bit testily.

Francis waved a hand dismissively. “I have her number,” he said.

_Of course he did._ “You’re a fucking prick, you know that?” he said instead.

Francis blew him a kiss in response.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said. He turned back to Roderich, who looked a bit wary at the sudden attention. “Can I talk to you?”

“…Why?” the other asked.

Gilbert let out an exasperated breath. “Because,” he answered, and then pressed one hand against his back and more or less pushed him up the stairs before a protest could be made.

“Gilbert!”

Gilbert pulled him into the kitchen and forced Roderich to face him. The other looked flushed, his cheeks red and his chest heaving a bit from the exertion.

“Well?” he demanded expectantly.

Gilbert took a deep breath and tried to think of everything he wanted to say. Roderich’s eyes were narrowed and his lips were slightly parted—chewed pink and enticing. “Why have you been avoiding me?” he finally blurted out.

“Excuse me?” Roderich frowned.

“I mean,” Gilbert tried to not lose resolve, “we’ve barely talked since move-in day. Look, I know there’s a lot of new things happening now that we’re in college and all, but you’ve been avoiding me. Why?” he pressed.

Roderich’s mouth gaped a bit more. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

“Bullshit,” Gilbert immediately called out. “C’mon, Roddy, I mean it. Why have you been avoiding me? I know we’re no longer in high school, but if this is because of us having sex—“

“ _Shut up_ —“ Roderich hissed, his eyes darting around nervously.

Gilbert frowned. An unpleasant feeling churned in his stomach.

“Roderich…” he frowned. “Are you…ashamed to admit that we were sleeping together?”

“Of course not,” Roderich said, but he wouldn’t meet Gilbert’s eyes when he said it.

Gilbert’s face began to heat up for reasons other than the alcohol. “You are, aren’t you?” he bit out savagely. “What, are you too good for me now, or something?” he demanded.

He hadn’t even noticed that he’d been stepping forward until Roderich was pressed against the counter, his eyes wide as Gilbert leaned over him.

Gilbert placed both hands on the counter to trap the other there, his breath hot against Roderich’s ear. Perhaps feeling a bit impulsive because of the alcohol, he reached one hand down to cup the front of Roderich’s jeans, the brunet’s breath pulling in sharply.

“I might not be one of those upperclassmen jocks you’re going after, but don’t forget, I can still fuck you better than any of them,” he breathed heavily against Roderich’s ear.

Voices began to approach and Gilbert immediately stepped back, his expression neutral as two frat brothers entered the kitchen.

“You two okay?” one of them asked, raising an eyebrow at them both.

“Yup, just fine. We were just catching our breath for a moment but we’re good now,” Gilbert replied. Roderich’s cheeks were flushed and he didn’t answer or look at anyone in the room. But to Gilbert’s surprise, Roderich’s hand grabbed onto his wrist and pulled them both out of the room.

“Let’s go,” he muttered.

“Okay,” Gilbert blinked, dumbly letting himself be led out of the room. As soon as they exited the kitchen, they were back to the mass of partygoers, heavy techno beats blaring over the ruckus.

For once their roles were reversed, Roderich leading Gilbert through the crowds until finally Gilbert pulled on the other’s grip, his expression confused.

“Roderich, what are we doing,” he frowned.

Roderich turned back to him, the expression on his face hidden.

“If this is what you want, then fine,” he said, wasting no time on preamble. Gilbert blinked and stood in the middle of the crowd looking dumbfounded. “But don’t think that you’re any different than the rest of them. This isn’t going to be any different than before, and that’s not going to change. Is this what you wanted?”

“I—“ Gilbert gaped.

“Take it or leave it, Gilbert, and I mean it.”

Gilbert swallowed hard. “Fine,” he said. “Whatever, sure.” 

Roderich nodded and for a moment, Gilbert swore he saw the flicker of relief in the other’s eyes. It was gone before he could even blink.

“Good,” the other said. And before Gilbert could blink, Roderich had disappeared back into the crowd and was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaaand this is where we're going to put a pause on focusing so heavily on Gilbert and Roderich. You're still see them around, but I have a lot of other characters and pairings that have stories to tell, as well! Hope you'll stick around. C: 
> 
> This is part of a College AU oneshot series that centers around Gilbert and Roderich's relationship with one another. Hopefully you'll learn more about them as time goes on, but for now, all you need to know is that Roderich is a music major concentrating in piano performance and Gilbert is a physics major whose little brother, Ludwig, is finishing up his senior year of high school back in their hometown in New Jersey. Gil and Roderich are currently in their sophomore year of college, but the series will probably branch out around that.
> 
> The oneshots don't necessarily have to be read in order, but some make more sense when read that way than others! Additionally, the Gilbert and Roderich in this AU are not particularly pious people, as the series title implies, and there will be sexual content, drug use, and underaged drinking covered in these fics. The series title is from the song 'Sleeping With A Friend' by Neon Trees. (And this title is from Guy Sebastian's song!) Thanks for reading, loves!! <3


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